Apparatus and method for determining a cumulative size of trace messages generated by a plurality of instructions

A method of estimating a size of memory required to store trace messages generated by instructions, comprising

• performing static code analysis of the instructions comprising, for each instruction:
• determining whether a trace message is generated by the instruction;
• determining whether a size of the trace message generated by the instructions is context dependent;
• determining a size of the trace message generated by the instruction;
• updating context;
• and
• determining a cumulative size of the trace messages generated by the instructions.

An apparatus comprising:

• a user interface module configured to provide a graphical user interface that represents a plurality of instructions as code blocks and enables user control of one or more or:
• where a static code analysis starts;
• where the static code analysis ends;
• what flow control occurs during static code analysis;
• how many iterations occurs in an iterative loop during static code analysis;
• and
• trace message type;
• and
• a static code analysis module configured:
• to perform static code analysis of the plurality of instructions comprising, for each instruction:
• determining a size of a trace message generated by the instruction based on a context and updating the context;
• and
• to determine a cumulative size of trace messages generated by the plurality of instructions.